Seth was baffled after viewing the 6th report transmitted by the mapping device.

The 6th scanning session started right after the sun had set, when the darkness began to take over.

“1056 scanned life forms and 354 moving entities during the night.”

Such numbers weren't really that special, considering that a functioning forest of this size should contain at least a thousand or more animals in order to maintain the ecosystem.

“Majority of life forms were clustered around one of the scanned man made structure.”

A recording of the session showed that about seventy five percent of scanned living entities were concentrated around one of the ruins during the dead of the night. Not a single one of them moved and just stood there as if on standby.

Nevertheless, it was only the first of all the reports that showed significant findings.

“The 12th scanning session showed only 102 lifeforms with only 54 actively moving.”

Showing a decreased number of hits, the 12th session started when the sun had already risen. One would definitely conclude that nocturnal animals were the majority of those entities, explaining the fact that they were active at night, but not during the day.

But then, they didn't behave like animals at all.

“A discoloration?”

As soon as Seth viewed the current session which was already at the 14th, something else bothered him. The trees surrounding that structure, where the nocturnal entities stood by, started to wither.

Something dangerous must be residing there.

A shiver ran through his spine as he thought of the possibility of that.

“We need to first focus on surviving.”

Overthinking wouldn't help at all, Seth reassured himself and decided to direct all of his focus on things that would increase their chances of survival.

Their first objective for today was to find a water reservoir and tap onto it for a continuous supply of water. Since the nearest body of water was only half a kilometer away from the facility, Seth’s plan was to travel on foot with a kilometer long industrial hose in tow. Connected directly to a standard suction machine, it could easily siphon a day's worth of water.

While donning the 3D printed full body armor, he repeatedly checked his loadout for the mission, careful as to not forget anything vital.

“I should use the gun more discreetly.”

As he recounted the remaining darts in his disposal, Seth had to conserve more since he didn’t have the capacity of producing more ammos at the moment. Eight sedative, three paralytic and one comatosing dart were the only ones he could find. He would be bringing all twelve darts for an increased variety of offensive tactics.

It’ll be more convenient if that plasma gun works.

That plasma gun was not overlooked at all, even if he didn’t put much time on it. It was unfortunately, beyond broken. Seth repeatedly tried to charge it with high voltage electricity, nevertheless the current wasn’t going where it was supposed to go.

Attached to his back, was the tower shield that was as light as a feather. With it being so light, Seth began to question it’s blocking capabilities. Even so, he was sure that it was indestructible albeit theoretically. It was also modified so that the tranquilizer gun could be strapped inside it, as for its ammo, a pouch was simply tied to the armor’s waist.

His other weapon, named the ‘crude warhammer’, would be his primary weapon for the mission. Heavy as it may look, Seth could raise the two handed hammer using one hand with considerable ease. The strength supporting system of the exoskeleton made it possible of course.

Speaking of the exoskeleton, I have no choice but to go with this.

Since the exoskeleton didn’t possess any kind of portable power source, a kilometers length of power cable would be attached to Seth while doing this mission.

“It looks lame.”

Lily laughed at him mockingly after seeing the cable which made it look like the armor sported a tail of some sort. Seth wanted to retort back but stopped after seeing Lily’s carefree attitude despite the situation they were in.

“I will be needing your support for this mission Lily so be sure to keep your eyes peeled at all times.”

She stiffened immediately after hearing that her role for this mission was of great importance. As if she was a nervous private who was being directed personally by the commander, her body was tensed all over. Seth couldn’t help but snicker at that comeback.

Utilizing the mapping device that was still conducting scans, Lily would serve as the reconnaissance officer for today’s objective. The coordinates of all scanned life forms reported by the device would be reported to Seth in real time through the intercoms.

“That’s all for today’s mission briefing. Salute!”

Wanting erase the building up tension, Seth jokingly took the Commander’s role and requested a salute from Private Lily.

“Sir, yes sir!”

Lily unexpectedly followed through with his command, saluting clumsily with her azure eyes showing an unwavering flame of determination.

____________________________________________________________________________

This is it.

At the northern side of the clearing that surrounded the facility, Seth firmly stood straight. Facing the uncharted wood that held so much mystery, he took a deep breath in order to relax himself and maximize his focus.

“Latest update before I venture in.”

The voice that reached the intercom sounded composed but carried a hint of nervousness.

“Umm… There's no blinking dots inside the path. ”

Lily, who reported the minimal information required by Seth, was nervous as well but couldn't help but be excited with the mission. Viewing the black knight from above the sky and directing him to the easiest way to the objective was quite similar to playing an RPG game.

“Alright, I'm going in.”

The path Lily was talking about was a pre-planned path Seth deemed to be the shortest and the safest among all the possible routes.

He felt as if he entered a whole different world as soon as he took the first step inside the forest. The giant trees shaded the forest floor with its enormous crown, only allowing a few rays of light to enter. Surprisingly, the ground was only scantily covered with bushes and grasses of varying height, mostly flat and rich in humus with a few moderately sized rocks scattered here and there.

Wildlife was scarce with only a few of those supersized insects. Grasshoppers, butterflies, ants,spiders and other common jungle arthropods of varying sizes, with the minimum being five times their normal size in terms of Earth’s standard. As for mammals and other animal classes, not a single one were seen which was quite disappointing and relieving at the same time for Seth.

This isn’t the time for sightseeing.

Curiosity and fascination got the best of him as Seth was immediately absorbed. Analysing and identifying several parts of the ecosystem, his walking pace had greatly declined. Certainly useful for the long run, but too risky for his current mission, he snapped himself out and began to walk briskly towards the objective.

“The vegetation here seems a bit more thicker.”

According to the map shown by the interface of the goggles, Seth had already traversed half of the set path. Up until now, everything about the path seemed correct. A dirt path that was convenient and vital for his mission of installing a heavy duty water line. With the hose having a fairly limited length, a straight line from the facility that leads to the water source was the ideal setting.

But it seems that going along with this plan had its share of risks.

In front of him was a path filled with moderately tall grass that stretched for at least meters. Judging from his position, the average height of the grass was only barely above his waist. It didn’t look that dangerous but Seth had this premonition that something might pounce on him if he was to walk through it carelessly.

“Scan update.”

Seth voiced a command through the intercom and immediately got a response from the reconnaissance officer.

“Still no red dots.”

A brief response that was straight to the point although sounding a bit lazy. Seth didn’t mind it that much considering that Lily might’ve been a bit bored by now.

The map scan was always a great help but shouldn’t be relied on too much since it had its own limits. It could detect warm blooded beings with at least seventy percent accuracy but not those hiding in thick cover and also cold blooded ones.

On the other hand, taking a slight detour would be a good choice but after briefly surveying the surrounding area, that possibility was shot down instantly. Every direction except the one in front of him was littered with thick tree trunks and tall bushes that obscured almost all of his vision.

There’s no choice then.

Seth switched the goggles into thermal vision and began to cross through the grass path by striding in a quick pace.

A small range between the colors blue and green with very few hints of yellow and orange were spotted as he focused his view on the grass in front of him. The usual thermal profile of plants that received meager amount of sunlight.

I guess I’m just being a bit too paranoid here.

He laughed at himself as he was nearing the end of the path, and switched off the thermal vision of his goggles while breathing a sigh of relief. Entirely clueless that something did pounce on him, just before exiting the grass covered ground.

“..............”

An unusual looking critter quite similar to pandas but the color scheme of the fur was somehow inverted. Cute round eyes surrounded by a small patch of white fur, its whole face and belly almost filled with blackish brown hair. There it was, hugging his left leg while chewing on a piece of bark. Judging from its tiny body,that was being supported by his leg that he considered short, it was still a cub. Even if he tried wiggle it off, it didn’t show any intention of letting go. It’s just there, chewing with an uninterested look.

“Time to let go now buddy.”

Seth grew impatient, seeing that the cub wouldn’t let go of him at all. If it was still a baby, its mother should be nearby. And if the mother sees their current situation, it would undoubtedly conclude that he was trying to cause harm to the cub.

“Off you go!”

At wit’s end, he decided to exert a bit more force and peeled off the cub that clearly showed an annoyed expression to him.

This is bad!

It did come off but as soon as it let go of his leg, the bear cub growled in distress. A high pitched sound that was so loud, Seth reflexively cupped his ears using both his hands, even though it was enclosed inside the helmet. Inevitably letting go of the cub that was held by him.

Yet after touching the ground by falling on its butt, the cub picked up a nearby tree bark and resumed with its unenthusiastic way of feeding.

“Such a troublesome-.”

SKREEEEEK!

An ear piercing sound of nails scraping metal assaulted Seth’s eardrums before he could he even finish his sentence. Coming from his back that was supposed to be free of any danger, a menacing figure managed to take the initiative of attacking without him even noticing.

“Big brother Seth behind you!”

His eardrums suffered yet another attack but it was Lily this time, shouting at the top of her voice thru the intercoms. From that moment, Seth knew that soundproofing was of utmost importance.

“Alright I get it already!”

The black knight immediately let go of the industrial hose, since it would definitely hinder his movements, and performed evasive maneuvers. He jumped forward with the support of the exoskeleton, and managed to at least widen the distance between him and the threat. Following his retreat was the power cable that was durable enough to endure any forceful pulling. Luckily, the line landed somewhere far from the enemy’s position.

“So you’re the mama bear.”

ROOOAAARRRRRR!

Towering by at least ten foot while standing up in two legs, the mother of the inverted baby panda leaked bloodlust that was clearly directed at the one who had hurt its offspring. Sharp claws that exuded a dark luster and a pair of maxillary canine teeth that extended from the mouth. It’s an adult version of the cub with additional features that focused on killing prey.

“I’ll take you on!”

Instead of being overcome by fear, Seth’s heart was filled with excitement. Exemplifying the true meaning of being a black knight, he didn’t falter and immediately switched into battle mode. He raised the tower shield and noticed that a large part of the black paint was torn off, a claw mark that should’ve bisected the shield but endured.

ROOOAAARRRRRR!

Noticing Seth’s enthusiasm, the beast charged with all its might, intending to use its massive body as a battering ram. Thundering noises erupted from the ground with each step taken by the bear that was running on all fours.

“Come at me!”

In response to the bear’s actions, the black knight assumed a defensive position by taking a shielding stance. A single hand held the shield in front while the other was holding the hammer, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike a counterattack. With the command of his mind, the exoskeleton also braced itself from impact by stretching the majority of its artificial muscle fibers.

BBOOOOOOOMMM!

If people were to witness the battle right now, they would certainly lose their minds. The tiny knight and his shield successfully repelled the rushing monstrosity. Instead of only receiving the full impact, the tower shield that was made of fluorographene, sent the majority of the kinetic energy back to the bear while the remaining scattered around their surroundings. The residual energy produced a shockwave enough to cause the nearby trees to sway erratically. At the same time, a cloud of dust filled the area where the point of impact was made, obscuring the vision of the beast but not Seth as he switched to thermal vision immediately after making contact.

“My turn!”

Seth could clearly see the reddish thermal signature of the bear and was sure that it was stunned by the collision. Not wanting to waste the given opportunity, he switched into offensive by tossing the shield away and proceeding to hold the warhammer with both hands.

“Whirlwind hammer finishing combo!”

Using the warhammer’s head as counterweight, the black knight spun repeatedly as if creating an actual whirlwind. With every rotation, the hammer would hit the stunned bear’s body. Not only twice or thrice, the whirlwind continued to mercilessly pound the beast’s body. The stunned state was prolonged with each strike and after completing about twenty rotations, the black knight decided to give the finishing blow.

“Uoooooooo!”

A warcry escaped from his lips as he held the warhammer over his head using both hands.The artificial muscle fibers on his arms contracted to its limit, collecting enough power to maximize its killing potential. And as if pulling the trigger, Seth transferred the energy from the handle up to the hammerhead and swung it down with all his might.

BAAAAM!

An impact ,that was several levels above all the ones he had made, exploded on the bear’s head. The beast staggered but still managed to take the blow without exploding into smithereens, as it remained standing albeit unsteadily.

“It broke.”

It seems that not only the bear’s head suffered from the impact. The head of the hammer separated from the handle almost instantly after making contact. Creating an amusing spectacle of a black knight holding a headless hammer with its waist covered with several meters of cable wire.